Miley Cyrus Photo—Art or Porn?
A recent photo of 15-year-old Miley Cyrus appeared in Vanity Fair and caused some controversy. In the photo, Miley’s back and shoulders are bare, her hair is damp and a sheet covers her chest. In the accompanying article, Miley describes the photo as “really artsy,” and says, “It wasn’t in a skanky way.” But shortly after the issue hit newsstands, the 15-year-old star of Disney’s Hanna Montana came out and apologized for the photo.
Many of the girls that look up to Miley know her as squeaky-clean Hanna Montana. But this photo doesn’t match her G-rated TV persona. And looking at the photo, you might think that she’s nude in bed after just having had sex. Some people are upset and feel the photo sends the wrong message to her young fans.
But according to Vanity Fair, Miley and her parents “thought it was a beautiful and natural portrait.” She wasn’t naked during the shoot nor sitting up in a bed, and her parents were on the set.
Some people think this photo is no big deal, and they don’t understand the outrage. They argue that the photo of Miley reveals a lot less than some 15-year-olds do in their prom dresses or on their MySpace profiles.
Whether you’d call this photo “artistic” or “pornographic,” our culture sexualizes people—especially young women. And yet, we do an awful job of openly and honestly talking about something as natural and normal as sexuality. If we had real, honest and accurate talks with young people about sex and sexuality, would photos like this cause so much controversy?
(32 votes, average: 4.16 out of 5)
Loading ...
May 2, 2008 at 10:12 pm
i understand that she wasn’t naked or anything, but until i read this, i didn not know that. i feel that at 15, she is still too young to be taking pics like these. i could see if she turned 18, but she’s not an adult yet. this photograph and the scandal that comes along with it makes me wanna smack billy ray and his wife. it isn’t really raunchy, but it sets a bad example or younger ones, who do not need to be exposed to this. i hope miley (and her parents) have all learned some kind of lesson.
May 3, 2008 at 6:02 pm
yeah, but Vanity Fair is usually aimed at older readers then pre-teens and early teens. i know that they still have access to them magazine, but its not like she was in a picture like that on the cover of Seventeen, Cosmo, or a magazine aimed at an even younger audience.
May 4, 2008 at 12:00 pm
It’s because we are raised to fear the body in America. The human body is a beautiful thing, we shouldn’t be afraid to show it off. It’s our Puritan heritage that causes us to freak out and go, “Bad, bad!” What she done isn’t disgusting. What she done was pose for a photo. It’s not shocking. It’s art.
May 5, 2008 at 9:30 am
I agree with Monkey_Scout. While I don’t know if this is “art”, she can be compared to a portrait model from the 14 century. It is merely a photograph showing her back, shoulders, and arms, done in great taste and maturity.
I cannot fathom how any human being could be upset with this, given the fact that people have to willingly purchase the magazine in order to see the picture, and given that the human body is the most precious and graceful entity to make it to earth. And if people are still shocked and amazed that a 15 year old is posing for a photograph with nothing on her shoulders, and if their children happen to see the photograph, even with or without their permissions, perhaps teaching said children a thing or two… perhaps… talking to them… willingly showing them what is out there in the world… with a great explanation and discussion… so that the job as a parent can only get easier as time goes on. The news story here should be targeting said complainers rather than the model.
May 7, 2008 at 9:40 am
I dont think there is naything wrong with this picture…..yes shes 15 and yes shes naked but she had a covers which are only showing her back…..and + her parents were on the set…….y does every one like to talk about people!!!
May 8, 2008 at 2:27 pm
I really hate her kinda. well hate is a strong word to use, well highly dislike.
I work in elementary school type setting for a hour or 2 a day, and all those little girls have always been obsessed with hanamontana the tv character. I though it was cute they were running around happy, trying to act like her then I had to draw the line when 8 year olds were acting like they were 16 and rebelling against me, or in the kindergardern the little girls wanted the boys to date them or thats all they would talk about. I asked them if they were a little young. and said “well hanamontania likes boys” and I just dropped it.
most of the people that watch her are about ages 8 - 10 or 11 after that I notice the older kids are like… ya no she’s stupid. and I think that miley need to start singing by her real name not hana, and she needs to act a lot more responsible. little children are exposed to enough already, if they google hana and this comes up, there gonna think its normal and okay to be nude or other things, and she’s not being a good role model.
yes she dose look good in that picture, and I think it is artsy. I’m a artest and I think the photo is very nice. but I just think that she needs to remember who is looking at her and watching her. it would be one thing if like 18+ were looking at her. but little children are looking at her. and also this is some what telling 15 year olds you need to look and act sexy to be normal.
June 2, 2008 at 11:32 am
What in the world????? This is a teenager for heavens sake. How many Disney channel stars do you see that are 15 that take pictures like that. Yeah in this case her parents were there on the photo shoot, but still her image potrays to these young girls. All the stuff in the stores her wigs, her outfits everything revolves around her to these little girls. She is too big for this to even happen. What’s next are you going to put this image on the front of a T-shirt in Wal-mart? Are these young girls going to think it’s okay to pose like this? I am so disapointed in the way her parents let her pose like this.But in the same sence it could be art.But you have to look at the way it potrays her. She seems so old in this picture like all it expresses is sex. But it was the choice of her parents and if her parents feel so comfortable with it then I guess it shouldn’t matter. But to me i feel she is too young. I’m fifteen also and about to turn sixteen and I wouldn’t feel comfortable poseing like that not for myself, my boyfriend, or anybody. It just shows too much of “Aren’t I sexy come and get me”. It’s just too grown up for her maybe in 3 to 4 years I might feel different about it, but she’s too young.
June 10, 2008 at 7:20 am
I think Miley kinda overdid it by taking pics like that. She’s only 15 and anyone with the right mind can tell that it’s kinda pornographic. Well, no nudity but still…I think a 15 year old should be left alone not exploited like some soft porn star.
June 10, 2008 at 12:54 pm
In regards to the post by Asche, which part of it reads “it would be one thing if like 18+ were looking at her. but little children are looking at her. and also this is some what telling 15 year olds you need to look and act sexy to be normal.”
I think your opinion is wrong, because anyone 18+ looking at this could be considered a predator, or a child molester.
June 19, 2008 at 2:20 am
mily is allways doing things like this and shes gona get hurt one day for doing things like that and not only did she take that picture witch to me she looks like a porn star but she all so told 7teen that she wus pregnet and she rilly wusent and the fact that her parents let her take that picture its just a shame and to think i use to looke up to that person
June 19, 2008 at 6:57 pm
Miley Cyrus is getting herself in a lot of headlines with her MySpace pictures these days.
She exposes her bra, tummy, hips, etc.. in a sexy way, and if you saw them, they’re anything but innocent.
And a supposed makeout session with her best friend and pictures to prove?
AND she’s laying with her stomach exposed on a couch with a guy next to her, obviously checking her out?
Yeah, I wouldn’t say she’s making much of an effort to keep her rep “squeaky clean”, because if she was, these racy pictures of her would quit popping up on the internet.
I really wonder what lectures she gets from her parents about those pictures…
Obviously, not serious enough.
One of these days she’s going to end up in a damned sex tape…
July 15, 2008 at 10:44 pm
Oh my goodness. Just leave the poor girl alone. If she wasn’t famous no one would so much as question this picture. It’s very tastefully done. Do you see her chest? No. You see her back, her shoulders, and her arms. Half of the summery shirts in the world expose these things. A bikini shows more for crying out loud! Okay, and about these myspace pics..so what? There are younger girls showing so much more on their pages. We both know that no one would care less if she wasn’t a Disney star. She’s fifteen, and more so. she’s human. About the makeout session with her best friend..since when is it unnatural for a fifteen year old girl to explore. What’s so wrong about. Why should she have to watch every little thing she does? Because she has a show young people watch. Well first, if you don’t want your kids to be influenced by her, don’t let them watch her! End of story! Second, if you don’t want them to see all the ’sketchy’ but normal things she does, then it’s your job to do so. How dare people blame her for all this. Maybe you all should take a nice hard look at yourselves. If kids are behaving a certain way because they see it, maybe it’s your fault for letting them see it in the first place. Let the girl be herself. Let her show her bra, her stomach and her hips. She has an awesome bod. Why can’t she enjoy it while it lasts? She’s not like, a hooker or something. So what is she really doing wrong? Let her explore herself and her sexuality. She’s fifteen. It’s her right.